Weigfach Colliery

Overview

Two collieries of the same name at Fforestfach near Swansea. The Old Weigfach was sunk in the early 1840s and sold up in 1856; the New Weigfach, developed by Thomas Glasbrook, struck a rich bituminous seam in 1870 and from 1874 supplied the Landore Steel Company. An explosion at the new pit in March 1877 killed eighteen.

History

The Old Weigfach colliery, south of the Worcester colliery at Fforestfach, was sunk in the early 1840s and bought by Thomas Stick in 1844, then sold again in 1849 to Ebenezer Davies; from 1851 the coal merchant Henry Tregaskis was selling house coal from Weigfach and Margam. An advertisement in the Cambrian of June 1856 offered the plant of Weigfach and Cwmbach collieries for sale, which appears to mark the old colliery's closure.

Thomas Glasbrook, brother of John, then developed the New Weigfach colliery, which struck the rich bituminous seam in 1870. It was also known as New Worcester and was worked in conjunction with the Worcester pit, and from 1874 it supplied coal to the Landore Steel Company.

On 9 March 1877 an explosion at the colliery killed eighteen men and boys (see Disasters, below). The dead included the overman Abraham Bevan, forty-eight, who left a wife and five children, and trammers of sixteen and twenty.

Geology

The colliery worked the bituminous coals of the western end of the South Wales Coalfield around Swansea — the belt in which the anthracite of the far west gives way to bituminous and steam coals eastward. The 'rich bituminous seam' struck in 1870 was what made the new colliery worth developing, and what made its coal suitable for the Landore steelworks it supplied from 1874.

Workings

Two successive collieries. The Old Weigfach was sunk in the early 1840s and its plant offered for sale in 1856. The New Weigfach, also called New Worcester, struck the rich bituminous seam in 1870 and was worked in conjunction with the neighbouring Worcester pit; from 1874 its coal went to the Landore Steel Company.

Closure

The Old Weigfach appears to have closed in 1856, when its plant was advertised for sale. The closure date is not known for the New Weigfach colliery.

What remains

Nothing is recorded of the present state of the colliery site; Fforestfach is now built up.

Related mines

• Worcester Colliery — Worked in conjunction with the Weig Fach pits, which were absorbed into Worcester in 1889; the same fireman was in charge at the Worcester explosion of 1873 and died in the Weig Fach explosion of 1877.

Disasters & major incidents

• Weigfach Colliery Explosion, 1877
  9 March 1877 · Explosion · 18 fatalities
  An explosion at the New Weigfach colliery at Fforestfach near Swansea on 9 March 1877 killed eighteen men and boys. The dead included the overman and two trammers aged sixteen and twenty, and most of the men left widows and young children.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The Old Weigfach colliery was sunk in the early 1840s, purchased by Thomas Stick in 1844 and sold to Ebenezer Davies in 1849; an advertisement in the Cambrian of June 1856 offered the plant of Weigfach and Cwmbach collieries for sale. (uncertain) ¹
• Thomas Glasbrook developed the New Weigfach colliery, which struck the rich bituminous seam in 1870. It was also known as New Worcester and was worked in conjunction with the Worcester pit. (uncertain) ¹
• From 1874 the colliery began supplying coal to the Landore Steel Company. (uncertain) ¹
• An explosion on 9 March 1877 killed eighteen according to the colliery page, which names eighteen men and boys; the site's list of Welsh mining disasters gives 19. (disputed) ^2,1

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The Old Weigfach colliery was sunk in the early 1840s, purchased by Thomas Stick in 1844 and sold to Ebenezer Davies in 1849; an advertisement in the Cambrian of June 1856 offered the plant of Weigfach and Cwmbach collieries for sale. (uncertain) ¹
• Thomas Glasbrook developed the New Weigfach colliery, which struck the rich bituminous seam in 1870. It was also known as New Worcester and was worked in conjunction with the Worcester pit. (uncertain) ¹
• From 1874 the colliery began supplying coal to the Landore Steel Company. (uncertain) ¹
• An explosion on 9 March 1877 killed eighteen according to the colliery page, which names eighteen men and boys; the site's list of Welsh mining disasters gives 19. (disputed) ^2,1
• The Mining Remediation Authority's abandonment plans name Weig Fach with the Mynyddbach-y-glo, Saints, New, Redhead and Worcester pits on the Three Feet, Six Feet and Yankee seams (SWR2747), and the Old Weig slant, Weig pit, Weig winding pit and Weig air pit with the Saints, Charles, Caegrabos and Gendros workings on the Swansea Three Feet and Six Feet seams (SWR3080). ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Worcester and Weigfach Collieries, Fforestfach — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Welsh mining disasters: list of accidents with five or more fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) Mynyddbach-y-glo, Saints, Worcester and Weig Fach pits: abandonment plans SWR2747 and SWR3080 (BGS mine plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026